


In re Vigilantism

by Kamemor



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: (by which I mean Haley), (reference to Hotch's childhood), Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen, Hotch thinks he's Batman basically, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Vigilante AU, mentions of George Foyet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 00:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13601649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamemor/pseuds/Kamemor
Summary: (Translation: "In the matter of Vigilantism", from the convention for naming court cases.)Prosecutor Aaron Hotchner and his son Jack are staying with their old friend crime writer David Rossi while they recover from the death of Jack's mother at the hands of a murderer that Hotch was prosecuting. One night, Dave investigates a disturbance only to discover that Hotch has been sneaking out in the middle of the night for reasons he seems determined to keep to himself...





	In re Vigilantism

“And where exactly have you been?” Dave folded his arms and frowned in exaggerated disapproval at the adult man who was currently trying to sneak back to his room like a teenager who’d stayed out past curfew.

“Please don’t, Dave,” said Aaron, his voice flat and tired-sounding. Dave was immediately worried- he’d been joking, but Aaron clearly wasn’t. Something was wrong.

“You okay?” he asked, squinting through the darkness at the shadowy form of his friend.

“Fine,” said Aaron. He didn’t sound it. Dave reached back through the doorway he was standing in and switched on the light in the room behind him, the warm glow spilling out into the entrance hall. Aaron flinched, covering his eyes and turning his head, but he wasn’t fast enough to hide the red welt and spreading bruise on his left cheek.

“What the hell happened to you?” Dave asked, shocked. “Who did that? Where have you been?”

“Out,” said Aaron, but Dave wasn’t going to let him get away with monosyllabic answers anymore.

“Where, at Fight Club?” he asked, taking a step closer to Aaron and trying to get a better look at his injury. Aaron took a step back, limping slightly, but he still gave Dave a look like ‘don’t be ridiculous’. “Well, what else am I supposed to think if you don’t tell me anything?” Aaron sighed.

“Fine,” he said. “I was following up a lead that could have led me to Foyet, and while I was out there I stepped in to stop a mugging. Happy?”

“No!” Dave stared at him, dumbfounded. “No, I’m not happy! Where do I even start... You were out there looking for Foyet? Alone? What the hell, Aaron?!”

“Keep your voice down,” Aaron hissed, glancing in the direction of the stairs to the upper floors and the bedroom where Jack was currently sleeping.

“And you stopped a mugging?!” Dave lowered his voice, but the incredulity was still there. “Who do you think you are, Batman?” Aaron looked away at that, and Dave felt a cold weight suddenly settle inside his chest. Fuck. That was exactly what was going on here.

“I couldn’t just stand by, Dave,” Aaron said, his voice soft, but there was something stubborn and resolute there too. Dave felt that weight in his chest getting heavier, and his panic and his anger rose in response. He’d known Aaron for almost half the younger man’s life, and he knew that tone. That was the same conviction that drove him through even the most hopeless cases, that kept him up late into the night working himself half to death because he wouldn’t, couldn’t let a murderer back out into the world where they might harm someone else. If Aaron turned that conviction to this ill-thought-out quest for vigilante justice, it wouldn’t be a question of if he’d get himself killed, it would be when.

“Aaron, you’re a  _ prosecutor _ ,” said Dave, desperation fuelling the vehemence in his voice. “Let the FBI handle Foyet. This isn’t your job, it’s theirs.”

“And they’ve been doing it so well,” said Aaron, his voice soft but bitterly sarcastic.

“So help them! You know his case inside out and backwards; they’d take you on as a consultant in a heartbeat.  _ That’s _ the way to help, not getting yourself killed in some back alley following leads in the middle of the night.”

“I can do both,” said Aaron, simply. “I need to do this, Dave. For Haley.”

“You think this is what she’d want?” Dave asked, incredulous. “I know for a fact she’d want you to put your son first. And what about Jack, huh?” Dave continued. “Have you ever stopped to think what it would be like for Jack to lose his dad the same way he lost his mom?” Aaron flinched at that, but held his ground.

“I  _ am _ thinking of Jack,” he insisted, and Dave could tell that nothing he was saying was having any effect. Somewhere in the back of his mind he cursed the fact that he was arguing with a lawyer. “Foyet is still out there,” Aaron continued. “And until he’s caught Jack is living with the fact that the man who murdered his mother is still out there. All of this, it’s for him as well as her.”

“Oh yeah? You mean this has nothing to do with you wanting revenge?” Dave asked. Screw it. If he had to fight dirty he would. “Jack is  _ four _ , Aaron. Sure, he’s scared of Foyet, but you tell him that the police and the FBI are doing everything they can to catch him. Do you think he’s going to care that you were the one who took Foyet down if you die in the attempt?”

“I’m not planning on dying,” said Aaron, his voice getting hard and telling Dave that he had lost patience with his repeated use of the same argument.

“Yeah, well, somehow I don’t think Foyet cares about whether you plan on dying or not,” Dave said angrily. It was anger born of worry, and it was almost overwhelming him. “God, Aaron, can’t you see how stupid this is? I’m trying to talk you out of it because I know you, son, and I know how far you’re going to take this and what it’s going to do to you. Why won’t you listen to me?”

“You’re not my father, Dave,” Aaron said, not shouting but definitely heated. Dave almost flinched. He knew it was a direct response to his use of the word ‘son’ rather than a comparison to Aaron’s birth father, but the comment still stung. Dave had been more of a father to Aaron over the years than that abusive rat bastard had ever been.

“No, I’m not, and that’s a damn good thing,” he shot back, his own voice heated, desperation finally taking him to a place he’d usually never go. “Do you think your dad would give two shits about this little crusade of yours? Huh? Is that what this is, just another attempt to make him proud of you? Well tough break, Aaron, he’s dead. And even if he was still here, you can bet your ass he’d probably just beat you for this, too.”

If glares could kill, Dave would have dropped dead on the spot. It had been a long time since he’d seen Aaron this angry, and he’d never before been the target of the full force of his friend’s cold rage. But Dave found that he didn’t much care. He held Aaron’s gaze and stood his ground. He’d rather have a living friend that hated him than a dead friend any day.

Another man might probably have feared for his safety, staring down someone of Aaron’s stature and proven willingness to get physical, but the possibility that things would go that way never even crossed Dave’s mind. He knew the man well enough to know that, no matter how angry Aaron got, he would never lash out with the intent to hurt him. The biggest difference between Aaron and his old man was that Aaron burned cold, burned inward, with the sort of fire that eventually collapsed in on itself rather than exploding outwards. He’d sooner burn himself up than ever let that fire hurt the people he cared about.

So they just stood there, Dave staring back in the face of Aaron’s anger, meeting it with his own vehemence until, as he had known he would, Aaron crumpled. His hand came up to his face, briefly pressing against his mouth in a tense fist.

“That wasn’t fair, Dave,” Aaron said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

“No? Let me tell you what’s not fair.” Dave stepped forward into Aaron’s personal space and gripped his friend by both upper arms. “You’re not being fair to  _ yourself _ , Aaron. You have  _ nothing _ to prove.” Dave gave him a gentle shake with each emphasis. Aaron crumpled even more, almost going limp in Dave’s hands, and the remaining defiance in his gaze faded to damp-eyed desperation. He shook his head.

“This isn’t... this isn’t about  _ me _ , Dave,” he said, his voice still extremely quiet. “No, hear me out,” he said, at Dave’s sceptical expression. “I’m not... doing this because I have something to prove. I’m doing it because I  _ can _ . Because there are people out there who need help, help that  _ I _ can give. And if I sit back, if I do nothing when I could be doing  _ something _ ?” Aaron shook his head again. “I failed Haley when she needed me the most. I’m not going to fail anyone else.”

Dave pulled him into a hug. It was all he could think of to do. If he was being honest, it was partly so he didn’t have to see that horrible broken emptiness in Aaron’s eyes. The conviction was still there too, the single-minded “I can so I must” that had driven Aaron throughout his career and indeed his life. But it was so obviously his single lifeline in the dark, the thread he was clinging to so as not to lose himself in grief over the loss of Haley, and it broke Dave’s heart all over again. It wasn’t fair. A man like Aaron, the sort of man who had devoted his entire life to helping others, shouldn’t have to deal with so much pain, so much loss. Not if there was any justice in the universe. And people wondered why Dave was a cynic.

They stood there for a long moment, Dave’s arms around Aaron and Aaron’s arms hanging limp at his sides. Dave didn’t begrudge him that. Aaron had never been good with physical affection, especially from other men, and to return a hug like this was to implicitly admit to needing one.

“What am I going to do with you, huh?” Dave said softly into his friend’s tense shoulder. Then he let go, taking a step backwards as he did so and giving Aaron the space to recover his composure. When Aaron squared his shoulders and held his gaze, Dave sighed. A few minutes ago, he’d have reacted to that by continuing the argument, but his anger had drained away like Aaron’s brief fury, leaving behind only a tired acceptance as companion to his worry. “You’re going to keep doing this no matter what I say, aren’t you,” he said. It wasn’t a question, but Aaron still gave the smallest nod of agreement.

“Alright, then,” said Dave, his tone and attitude becoming matter-of-fact. “If I can’t stop you, I’m going to have to help you. Now, I’m no English butler, but you need an Alfred. Someone to hold down the fort, have your back even if it’s from a distance. Will you let me do that for you?” Aaron blinked, taken aback. Dave took a brief moment of pleasure from that- it wasn’t often that he managed to surprise his whip-smart friend- but didn’t let it show on his face. He just raised his eyebrows, re-emphasising the question. Aaron recovered quickly, something that was probably relief washing over his face, and nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, I would like that.”

“Good,” said Dave. “Because it was going to happen whether you liked it or not, but it’s always much better to be wanted.” The tiniest smile briefly quirked Aaron’s lips. Dave reached out again, and gave Aaron’s shoulder a quick one-handed squeeze. “Come on, then. You’re going to let me have a look at that face of yours, and any other injuries you’re hiding, and then we’re going to have a discussion. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather do that over a drink.” He turned and lead the way out of the entrance hall towards his study (and, more importantly, the decanter of scotch that resided there), Aaron following barely half a step behind him.

As they walked, Dave found himself smiling slightly despite the complicated emotions he still felt about the whole situation. He could safely say that he’d never once in his life thought he’d be initiating a discussion about the practicalities of vigilantism. But of all the people he knew, he would have to say that he wasn’t even remotely surprised that it was Aaron who was responsible for this almost unbelievable turn of events. He’d always known the younger man was heading for great things. Even if he’d never in a million years have guessed those great things included becoming a superhero...

**Author's Note:**

> This is pretty much just a oneshot, but I do have plans for how things go from here and how the rest of the team fit into this AU so who knows, I may end up writing more eventually.


End file.
